Page:America Fallen!.djvu/193

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Reaping the Whirlwind
181

sunk or securely blockaded in its own ports? True; but, "Other times, other customs." The advent of the seagoing submarine and of the wireless had introduced factors which had upset the old formulas of war.

The possession by the enemy of a force of seagoing submarines enabled them, at one stroke, to clear the coasts of every hostile ship from Canada to the Panama Canal; and the capture of the radio plants and the possession by Germany of the U. S. Navy Secret Code made it possible to lure its main fleet into a position where it could be overwhelmed by superior numbers.

Finally, on April 11th there appeared off the American coast a great fleet of 45 transports, having on board 100,000 troops, and convoyed by the pre-dreadnought ships of the Deutschland and Witllesbach classes. It divided, the five